School of EducationEducational Administration

Certification

Administrative Endorsement Program

The Administrative Endorsement Program has been established to meet the needs of aspiring or practicing educational administrators who (1) have a baccalaureate degree in education with a valid teaching certificate, (2) already hold master's degrees in educational fields other than administration (and hold a valid teaching certificate), or (3) who hold master's degrees in educational administration but have not been endorsed for certification. The Administrative Certification Program provides three options that lead to certification for South Dakota administrative certification by the Division of Educational Administration (EDAD) at The University of South Dakota. Please note that the South Dakota Department of Education requires three years of teaching or student services experience under a valid license in addition to the university endorsement to be certified as a school administrator.

This option is primarily for those seeking certification as elementary, secondary or PK-12 principals and results in the completion of the Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration plus the appropriate administrative certification. Candidates for this option must meet all application, admissions, and programmatic requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration as published in the current USD Graduate School catalog.

This option is for those candidates holding the MA degree in education and seeking certification as elementary, secondary, or PK-12 principals, or school district superintendents and results in the completion of the Educational Specialist degree in Educational Administration plus the appropriate administrative certification. Candidates for this option must meet all the application, admissions, and programmatic requirements for the Educational Specialist degree in Education Administration as published in the current USD Graduate School catalog. Certification may be granted prior to completing the EdS degree program following the completion of 15 to 18 semester hours of required coursework if the coursework includes those courses listed under Option 3 below.

Option 3: Administrative Endorsement Only:

This option is for those seeking certification as elementary, secondary, or PK-12 principals, or school district superintendents, and results in the appropriate administrative certification without completion of any graduate-level degree program. Candidates for this option do not need to meet the application, admissions, or programmatic requirements for graduate degrees in Educational Administration, but must complete the accompanying form for advising purposes. This option requires candidates to complete a minimum of 15 (elementary or secondary principal) or 18 (PK-12 principal or superintendent) semester hours of selected educational administration courses designed to meet the South Dakota Department of Education certification requirements and prepare them for the administrative role for which they seek certification. At lease nine of those 15 to 18 semester hours must be completed at USD or through USD-sponsored distance media, and candidates are not permitted to transfer credits from other institutions into non-degree programs. Candidates, however, may use credits earned during their master's degree programs at other institutions to meet content requirements of the courses comprising the Administrative Certification Program at USD. Candidates will apply to the Graduate School as Special Students rather than degree-seeking students (application forms available from either the Graduate School or the Division of Educational Administration). However, only nine semester hours of coursework as a Special Student may subsequently be applied toward a degree program if the candidate chooses to pursue a graduate degree at a later date. Pursuant to this option, the following sections outline the coursework required for certification within each of the specific administrative fields.